There's no escape when Cranston goes ape.

For some reason, the ProJo has seen fit to run a story about Brown political science professor Judy Lawless' joke of a Congressional campaign. She may be slightly more liberal than Jim Langevin, the incumbent, but her combination of egotism and political naivete--the arrogant innocence only a political science professor could cultivate--annoys me to no end. And then there's her campaign staff.

An assistant professor of political science at Brown University, Lawless moved to Rhode Island two years ago [and Cranston last week, since she didn't even live in Langevin's district --ch]. Her campaign manager is Adam Deitch, a former student of hers who graduated from Brown this spring with a bachelor of arts degree in political science. The campaign has four other full-time staffers, all under age 25.

That's right: Adam Deitch. Better known, particularly to the staffers of the College Hill Independent, as ringleader of the Undergraduate Finance Board and pathetic intramural softball captain.

It is at times like this that we can be thankful for the clannish insularity of the Rhode Island Democratic establishment.

The only response from Langevin's camp yesterday emphasized Lawless' newness to the district. "I welcome her to Rhode Island, to the Second District and to the race," Langevin spokeswoman Joy Fox said.